UK’s leftist outlet The Guardian’s Aina Khan has now invoked a ‘good Imam’ who stood guarding the Hindu temple in Leicester while Islamist mob ran riots, perpetrating violence on Hindus. Khan cites her own report where she named one Dharmesh Lakhani obliquely referenced as someone who ‘represents and works with Hindu temples across Leicester’. This ‘Dharmesh Lakhani’ apparently also works with mosques and local Muslim leaders as per their report.
Aina Khan’s tweets
Khan then tweeted portion of her ‘conversation’ with ‘Dharmesh Lakhani’, who works with Hindu temples and mosques, who confirmed the flag outside Hindu temple was torn down by the Islamist mob. Another flag was burned. However, Khan steers clear from mentioning who attacked Hindu temples. Idol worship is considered biggest sin in Islam. Over the years, during the Mughal rule in India, hundreds of Hindu temples were destroyed and disputed structures (mosques) were built over them. The disputed structures called ‘Babri Masjid’ and ‘Gyanvapi Masjid’ are just some of the examples of persecution of Hindus in their own land.
‘Dharmesh Lakhani’ then also conjures up one Imam (Islamic religious head), who just happened to stand outside the Hindu temple in Leicester while an Islamist mob destroyed it but the ‘Imam’ was standing guard to ‘make sure nothing happens’. It is important to mention here that many crimes of murders over ‘blasphemy’ in India as well as forced religious conversions as well as sexual exploitation, Maulanas or other such religious heads have played a major role. Of course, the ‘good Imam’, by grace of Gods and Goddesses, just happened to be there to save the Hindu temple.
Yeh Pehle Ho Chuka Hai
The ‘good Imam’ is straight out of the toolkit Indian Islamists have often used to show how amid the violence perpetrated by their own coreligionists, the ‘good men’ are still out to ‘protect’ the Hindu places of worship. This despite history having shown otherwise – a cursory glance at pleas in various courts of India will give you an idea on how historically, the temples have always been demolished by radicals.
The ‘good Muslims’ card is invoked as cover fire when the radicals choose violence. We’ve seen it August 2020 when an Islamist mob took to streets in Bengaluru over alleged ‘blasphemy’ of divine figures of Islam and set things on fire. When the ‘liberals’ and ‘seculars’ saw how an average person is waking up to reality that you do not call for beheading someone just because your ‘religious feelings’ are hurt, they started showing how Muslims had formed ‘human chain’ to ‘protect temple’.
The same happened after Delhi anti-Hindu riots as well. Day after the Delhi’s Anti-Hindu riots in February, media reports had emerged how Muslims formed human chains to ‘save temples’ in Delhi. The trick was first tested in recent history during the anti-CAA riots.
The fact that an Islamist mob wanted to destroy it while chanting Allahu Akbar gets forgotten because ‘good Muslims’ formed ‘human chain to save it’. Similarly, the removal, burning of flag in Leicester by Islamist mob is whitewashed by ‘good Imam’ who just happened to be there coincidentally amid violence to ‘protect temple’.
And we are to believe this. We are to believe the mob which attacked the temple had no religion, but the person who appeared miraculously there to ‘save it’ had.
Recently there have been several reports which suggest that the demographics along the Nepal-India border are changing rapidly. The number of mosques and madrasas is increasing continuously in these regions. The OpIndia team toured the border areas from August 20 to August 27, 2022, to assess the ground reality of the population of Muslims and Hindus. We have been reporting what we have witnessed in chronological order. Here is the 16th report of the series.
We have highlighted the Islamic religious sites on the Tulsipur-Harraiya road parallel to the Nepal border, some distance from the Tulsipur-Harraiya road up to Prem Nagar in our 15th report. We witnessed not just mosques erected in remote locations, but also madrasas and Mazars along the roadways. This time, we spoke with the locals we encountered along the way. They told us about their village and the problems in the surroundings.
Harish Chandra Sharma, the village head of Ahladdih village panchayat in Balrampur district, is one of the first people we met. We asked him specific questions concerning the border areas. The village head has historically been elected only by Sharma’s family for more than 20 years.
The rise in the dominance of Muslims in the last 20 years
Harish Chandra Sharma informed us that the demographic imbalance in his region is fast growing and that this imbalance has occurred at a very rapid rate in the previous 20 years. Sharma said that many strangers have migrated to his village and settled. Along with this, he stated that the primary cause of the imbalance is the rapid population growth among Muslims due to multiple marriages and more children. According to Harish Chandra, the population of Muslims in his neighbourhood has grown, as has their political and economic influence.
Harish Chandra Sharma.
According to Sharma, when Hindus go to question the arrival of an outsider, the local Muslims come forward claiming them as their relative. He told that in this way they settle here and purchase land and property. Sharma confirmed that Hindus too sell their land to newcomer Muslims.
On the topic of Muslims spending large sums of money to acquire land, Sharma stated that while Muslims appear to be impoverished, they actually have a lot of money. He stated that they earn this money by working in large cities such as Mumbai. Sharma went on to add that the Hindu-Muslim ratio has changed from 70-30 to 50-50 as a result of the demographic shift.
He further stated that if a Muslim owns a room or property, he will only give it to a Muslim. With this, Muslims are continuously striving to acquire land, particularly around highways and crossings. He requested that his locality be monitored more closely by the authorities. He noted that no specific administrative action has been taken as of yet.
Several Muslim majority villages on the Nepal border
Sharma noted the villages around his village, such as Rehra and Khapri, as having a 100% Muslim population. He claims that just a few Dalit Hindu households exist among them. According to Harish Chandra Sharma, many Hindus in these villages recently sold their homes and relocated. He also mentioned the significant demographic change in the adjoining bazaar of Tulsipur.
Sharma stated that two madrasas and two mosques had been built in his village. One mosque is quite old, but the other was erected just in front of him. In addition, he stated that both madrasas in his area were built during the past 20 years. He stated that these madrasas are not state-funded.
According to Sharma, there is no harmony at Hindu festivities in his locality. He claims that because his village is Hindu-dominated, there is no disruption, but Hindus are unable to openly celebrate their festivals in adjacent villages such as Khaira. He described Khaira village as having roughly 90% Muslim residents and stated that it is one kilometre away from his village.
Sharma said, shockingly, that any outsider Muslim may simply get his name put on the voters’ list or ration card owing to influence. According to Sharma, one of the downsides is that outsiders profit from all of the government’s schemes, putting deserving Hindus at a disadvantage.
The village head highlighted Muslim-majority villages such as Gudaria, Rajwapur, and Khapripur. With this, he claimed that there are 20 villages within a 10-kilometre radius of him with a Muslim population of 70% or more. According to Harish Chandra Sharma, the Pradhans and other positions there are exclusively for Muslims, and the condition is such that Hindus stand nowhere in the competition. Sharma also named some villages where no Hindu contests elections.
A 20-year-old was sentenced to 10 months in jail in connection with the anti-Hindu violence in East Leicester in England’s East Midlands region on Monday, thereby making it the first conviction in the case.
The development was confirmed by the local police in a statement on Monday (September 19). The accused was identified as one Amos Noronha, who is a resident of Illingworth Road in Leicester.
He was produced before the City Magistrate’s Court on Monday where Amos pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon.
A further update on our response to the disorder in areas of East Leicester.
As of September 19, 2022, the East Leicester police have arrested 47 people in connection with the anti-Hindu violence in the city. “An additional 18 people were arrested on Sunday night for a number of offences including affray, common assault, possession of an offensive weapon and violent disorder,” it informed.
The police added that some of the accused are not from Leicester and belong to other cities, including Birmingham (which boasts of a 13,78,000 Muslim population).
“In total, 47 people have been arrested for offences in relation to the unrest in the east of the city. Some of those arrested were from out of the city, including some people from Birmingham,” it added.
Horror at Leicester: Targeted attacks on Hindus and Misinformation campaigns
Leicester City in England’s East Midlands region has witnessed a sharp increase in targeted attacks against the Hindu community. The orgy of violence by Islamists began soon after India clinched victory against Pakistan in the group stage match of the Asia Cup on August 28.
According to a Hindu organisation (@INSIGHTUK2), a casual banter between Indian fans and Pakistani supporters turned serious when the latter snatched and disrespected the Indian Tricolour. Soon after, the police took cognisance of the matter but added to the raging misinformation by Islamists that religious slurs were hurled in Hindi.
India and Pakistan again met at the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup. After Pakistan succeeded in settling scores on the field, its supporters attacked a Hindu home celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi.
The accused men also received overwhelming support from their co-religionists on social media. Homes, cars, and properties belonging to the Hindu community, which were easily identifiable with sacred symbols, were damaged. In order to control the situation, Chief Superintendent Adam Slonecki granted dispersal and stop search powers to the police.
Recently, a Hindu temple came under attack by Islamists in Leicester. In a viral video, one extremist was seen uprooting a saffron flag affixed to the temple structure. On September 16, the police informed that a total of 27 people were arrested in connection with the violence.
Meanwhile, the Islamists resorted to making outlandish claims to deviate public discourse from the targeted attacks on Hindus. While speaking to Opindia, research scholar Sarah L Gates said, “This was a planned clean out aka religious cleansing. They want to purge Hindus.”
Hindus in Leicester are now at the mercy of the police for their safety. With motivated news publications and Islamist groups portraying them as the perpetrators, they are left to fend for themselves.
On September 17 (local time), a man identified as 27-year-old Sukhpal Singh of Douglaston was arrested by the New York Police in the Tulsi Mandir desecration case that took place on August 16. The accused, along with his associates, had vandalized the Gandhi statue placed at a temple premised located in South Richmond Hill.
In a statement, the Police said, “On 9/17 an arrest was made, but our job is not done yet. We are following up on additional leads to bring EVERYONE responsible to justice for our Hindu community. The perpetrator was charged with felony Criminal Mischief as a hate crime.”
On 9/17 an arrest was made, but our job is not done yet. We are following up on additional leads to bring EVERYONE responsible to justice for our Hindu community. The perpetrator was charged with felony Criminal Mischief as a hate crimehttps://t.co/QWObnj3h7zpic.twitter.com/GWQ18jpgBJ
Earlier on August 19, the Police had released images from CCTV footage and urged the community members to help identify the attackers.
‼️ WANTED- Criminal Mischief at Hindu Temple ‼️ Please assist Hate Crime Task Force in identifying the following perpetrators. There were 2 incidents occurring at Tulsi Mandir in the South Richmond Hill section of Queens. Below are bulletins with preliminary information? pic.twitter.com/6XXG2vNGCh
Singh was arrested and charged with criminal mischief in the second degree as a hate crime and aggravated harassment in the first degree. They had smashed not only the statue but also spray-painted the temple area. The incident took place at around 3:30 AM on August 16. When the priest arrived at the temple premises early morning, he found the Gandhi statue smashed and the ‘Kutta dog’ written with spray paint.
The Police initiated a probe into the matter. During the investigation, with the help of CCTV footage, they found that Singh was involved in the crime alongside four others who are still at large. As per the reports, the miscreants toppled the statue at around 3 AM and hit it multiple times with a sledgehammer. The Police traced him back to one of the getaway cars the group had used, which was a Mercedes Benz C-Class registered under his name.
Singh, if convicted, might face prison time up to 15 years. He was presented in court on September 18 and was called back on October 17.
In a statement in August, the Police had said that the pattern of the attack was similar to that of the August 3 attack on the temple where the statue was toppled but not damaged to that extent. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement, “As alleged, the defendant, along with several unapprehended others, committed a disgraceful act of violence against a Mahatma Gandhi statue that has become a universal symbol of peace, unity, and inclusivity. Hate and bias-motivated attacks have no place in our communities, and my Office will hold such perpetrators accountable.”
Following the first attack in August, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven), in a press conference, denounced the attack. Katz, Mayor Adams, and community leaders were also present at the Press Conference. Following the arrest, Rajkumar issued another statement where she thanked the authorities for standing up against hate crimes.
She said, “This kind of interfaith and global unity is exactly what we need right now to defeat the forces of hate. Incidents of anti-Hindu hate have been increasing, with a study by Rutgers University finding that anti-Hindu sentiments are on the rise. The FBI’s hate-crime data explorer has also recorded several incidents of “anti-Hindu bias” around the country.”
I am pleased to report that one of the alleged perpetrators of the anti-Hindu hate crime at Tulsi Mandir has been arrested and charged.
What began as a conversation between me and local Hindu leaders became a global movement that even drew support from the White House. ? pic.twitter.com/bbFzxOdDe1
Notably, she called for not punishing the culprits harshly in her statement. He said, “Today, I do not call for harsh punishment against the perpetrator apprehended, for Gandhi himself believed that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. In keeping with this spirit, I call for all those involved in this act of hate to educate themselves about the mutual respect and inclusivity taught by Gandhi and adopt love in their hearts towards all. Myself and the Hindu community are ready to embrace them with open arms. I invite the perpetrators to drop the sledgehammer and join with us in the cause of peace.”
Liverpool FC footballer Mohamed Salah was panned by Arabs after he condoled the demise of Queen Elizabeth II via Twitter.
Today, the people of Great Britain and the world pay tribute and bid a final farewell to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, commemorating her legacy and unwavering service. My thoughts are with the Royal Family on this historic and emotional day. pic.twitter.com/CdBq1cU2rT
Salah tweeted that the people of Great Britain and the world pay tribute and bid a final farewell to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. “My thoughts are with the Royal Family on this historic and emotional day,” he tweeted. However, his tweet wasn’t taken too well in the Arab world. Salah is an Egyptian footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League Club Liverpool and is captain of Egypt national team.
However, his wishes did not go down well in the Arab world and other African countries, most of which were at one point colonised by Great Britain.
Does his management even have shame? , Salah comes from Egypt we all know what the British Empire has done to Africa
Many tweets were in Arabic and reminded him of the destruction the British Empire had brought on to Egypt and other nations.
عاثت بالأرض فسادًا و هجرت العوائل و يتمت الأطفال و رملت النساء و أخرت نهضة بلدك و بلدان عربيه ومسلمه و في كل قدم تطأ فيها لها من أعمالها الشنيعه مالله به عليم
ألم تخجل على دينك يا رجل عروبيتك ؟ يا رجل وطنك الذي قدمك للعالم ؟
The British entered Egypt through Port Said in 1882 and subsequently occupied it. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the then Egypt President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal Company escalating tensions with Britain and France. The two countries colluded with Israel and attacked Egypt and the main battle occurred at Port Said. The above images are of the destruction left behind at Port Said after the tripartite aggression against Egypt that took place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
I wasn’t gona talk about it but let’s just say that at this point & in many occasions Mo Salah only represents himself.. he’s not a symbol of Muslims or Arabs or what we stand for.
Let’s treat him as just a footballer.. A legend but only of football..He is not Mohamed Aboutrika
Some also called his condolence message as a PR disaster.
This is not the first time Mohamed Salah has been on the receiving end of the ire of Muslim world. In December 2021, his Muslim credentials were cancelled for sharing a picture of himself with his family for Christmas. This was the third time in a row his Christmas pictures had upset Muslim fans as they thought it was inappropriate for him to participate in religious activities of another faith.
He was also attacked when he said that he doesn’t consume alcohol because he doesn’t feel like and many Islamists felt he should be a proud Muslim and say it as it is that alcohol is haram (prohibited) in Islam.
On September 18, India woke up to a horrible news story coming out of Punjab. In a private university named Chandigarh University near Mohali in Punjab, a girl was accused of recording videos of 60+ girls while taking a bath and then forwarding them to her friend in Shimla.
Multiple videos went viral on social media following that where the hostel’s warden and the accused girl’s fellow students can be seen confronting the girl and asking her how can she do that to her fellow female students. She was also being asked to apologise in the videos and prepare for a police case.
After the students in the university came to know what had happened, they came out in large numbers and started protesting outside the university gate and around the hostel where the incident took place. Accusing the Chandigarh University of trying to suppress the matter, the students raised slogans demanding justice for the girl students in the hostel.
The university finally called the Police to control the students. Upon arrival, the Police tried to talk to the students, which further irked them, and they allegedly overturned a few PCR vans. The Police eventually used lathi charge to disperse the crowd.
Following the protests, on Sunday, September 18, local police and university administration, both issued statements that refuted the news of recordings of 60+ girls. They said that the accused girl used to only record her own videos and send them to her friend in Shimla. They also dismissed the rumours that any girl attempted suicide on campus over this news.
However, this didn’t placate the agitating students of Chandigarh University as they once again gathered to protest on the night of September 18. Not satisfied with the police action and university response, the students kept protesting well into the night. Eventually, the police and the administration agreed to their demands and agreed to form an SIT to probe the matter. Two more accused in the case were also arrested from Shimla, including the girl’s friend who allegedly received the videos from her.
Despite multiple police statements, several questions still remain unanswered
Even though the police have been communicating with the general public and the students regularly during the course of these protests, their communication has left people with more questions than answers.
The very first morning after the protests, Mohali SSP Vivek Soni said that the accused has not recorded videos of any other girls, and she has only sent her own videos to her friend in Shimla. In such a short space of time, how did police manage to conduct a thorough forensic examination of the accused’s phone and come to this conclusion?
In the viral videos from the university, the accused girl is being asked how can she do this to fellow girls, and not once did she say that she hasn’t done anything to her fellow students. Implying that she indeed was guilty of something at the very least, however, police were quick to say that she hasn’t recorded or forwarded anyone else’s videos. What was the rush to come to such a conclusion without conducting a thorough probe?
If the police believed that nobody’s videos have been recorded and forwarded, then why have there been 3 arrests in the case, including an ‘accomplice‘ who wasn’t even initially named by the girl?
The initial statement from the police is hard to believe because it is hard to fathom that the entire Chandigarh University came out to protest when there was no substance behind their accusations, and nobody else’s video was recorded.
The university administration repeated pretty much the same thing as the police that the girl recorded only her own videos and there were no recordings of any other girl. However, the university went on to suspend two hostel wardens after the protests and set up an inquiry committee 2 days later.
If the university knows that there were no other videos recorded by the girl then why are they acting now, after 2 days of sustained protests by the students? Was their initial reaction just to cover up the case and put an end to the investigations?
Interestingly, as per reports, two videos have been found in the mobiles of the accused that will now be sent for a forensic probe. One video is that of the accused girl, while the other one is of some other girl. ANI quoted the accused’s lawyer Sandeep Sharma as confirming to the media. This totally contradicts the initial stand taken by the administration that there are no other videos.
The investigations into the case are underway and the forensic examination of the accused’s phones may shed some new light on the case. However, the initial reaction from the police and the administration does raise a few eyebrows.
The Delhi High Court Monday decided to proceed ex-parte against filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, scientist and political commentator Anand Ranganathan, Swarajya Magazine and others in a 2018 Contempt-of-Court case. The contempt of court case was filed for comments criticising Justice S Muralidhar for granting bail to Urban Naxal Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
The Division Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Amit Sharma made the decision, noting that despite the issuance of fresh court notice in May, no one, on their behalf, appeared during the court hearing scheduled today.
“None appears on behalf of remaining respondents despite service of notice. The said respondents accordingly proceed ex-parte,” the Court ordered today.
Earlier on May 4, the Court had also noted that no one had attended on behalf of the trio in the previous hearings. The Bench then stated that deferring adverse orders is in the best interests of justice.
In October 2018, the Delhi High Court initiated contempt proceedings against Economist S Gurumurthy over his article on Justice S Muralidhar, where he had questioned S Muralidhar’s credibility as the High Court judge in connection with granting bail to Gautam Navlakha, one of the accused in the Koregaon Bhima violence case. Agnihotri and Ranganathan, who had tweeted about the issue on similar lines, were slapped with the charges of contempt later.
It all started when Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao wrote a letter to then Chief Justice Rajendra Menon,about an article written by S Gurumurthy alleging bias on the part of Justice Muralidhar for granting bail to Urban Naxal Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregoan case. Gurumurthy had penned the article “Why has Delhi High Court Justice Muralidhar’s relationship with Gautam Navlakha not been disclosed?” on Desh Kapur’s blog ‘Dhristikone’. The article was retweeted by Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri in a tweet, following which a contempt of court notice was sent to him as well.
It all started when Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao wrote a letter to then Chief Justice Rajendra Menon,about an article written by S Gurumurthy alleging bias on the part of Justice Muralidhar for granting bail to Urban Naxal Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregoan case. Gurumurthy had penned the article “Why has Delhi High Court Justice Muralidhar’s relationship with Gautam Navlakha not been disclosed?” on Desh Kapur’s blog ‘Dhristikone’. The article was retweeted by Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri in a tweet, following which a contempt of court notice was sent to him as well.
Anand Ranganathan, who is a free speech absolutist, condemned this action by the High Court in a couple of tweets. It turned out that certain tweets of his were withheld in India with the message “This tweet from @ARanganathan72 has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.” The two tweets were withheld evidently in response to legal demand which was criticising the contempt of court notices that were earlier served to S Gurumurthy and Vivek Agnihotri. It was later known that the same charges had been levied against Dr Ranganathan as well.
However, Gurumurthy was dropped as a respondent in the matter after he offered to retweet an unconditional apology tendered by the blog host Kapoor on his Twitter handle.
Nevertheless, the proceedings against Agnihotri, Ranganathan and several others continued in the case.
You might have heard the popular song starring Amitabh Bachchan ‘Thodi Si Jo Pee Lee Hai’. The immortal song fits perfectly in the lives of many habitual drinkers who try their level best to stop drinking but often fail miserably. The most recent incident with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has raised speculations that he has failed to stick to the promise he made early this year that he would stay away from alcohol forever.
Recently, a report said that Mann was deplaned from a flight to India in Germany as he was drunk. AAP has refuted the claims, saying Mann was not deplaned for being drunk. Earlier, AAP had claimed he was deplaned due to bad health.
In January 2019, Bhagwant Mann had promised he would not drink anymore. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal called it a ‘great sacrifice for the people. By that time, Mann, MP from Sangrur, had faced much criticism over his drinking habits. Though the promise made by a leader was supposed to be fulfilled, things allegedly did not turn in his favour.
From time to time, CM Mann was reportedly caught drunk. After becoming Chief Minister of Punjab, reports have suggested he visited places, including Gurudwara, while being in an inebriated state.
Here is a list of incidents where CM Mann was caught allegedly drunk:-
In 2015, former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav alleged that Mann had attended Parliament sessions while being under the influence. In a statement, he said, “I discovered it first in July 2014 when AAP had a meeting of all its Lok Sabha candidates. Mann was sitting next to me and was smelling of alcohol. I mentioned it to Arvind Kejriwal, and he nodded. Around this time, I heard rumours that Mann was going to the Lok Sabha sessions drunk.”
In October of the same year, former Granthi of Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, allegedly noticed that Mann was drunk. He was attending the bhog ceremony of the Faridkot firing victims. Mann was asked to leave the stage, and the incident caused the party embarrassment at the national level.
In 2016, AAP leader Harinder Singh Khalsa accused Mann of being drunk in the house. He wrote to then-Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and stated it was “torturous” to sit next to Mann, who “reeks of liquor.” Three more MPs wrote to a nine-member committee set up by Mahajan on the same issue in August 2016.
In July 2016, Mann live-streamed his trip to Parliament and published the video on Facebook. His actions triggered outrage from other house members as he breached security by shooting a video of the Parliament. It was alleged that Mann was drunk on that day and had leaked the Parliament security apparatus. Following the incident, then-Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked him not to attend the sittings of the House until a decision was taken on the matter.
Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi have accused Mann of being a drunkard. Former CM Singh had called him an alcohol addict in 2016, while former CM Channi accused him of being a drunkard before the Punjab Assembly elections in 2022.
In November 2016, Mann had allegedly turned up at the funeral of Manmeet Alisher in an inebriated condition. The family had asked Mann to leave the premises since he misbehaved with them and the journalists at the venue.
In 2018, Bhagwant Mann went to address an election rally at Gol Diggi in Bhatinda. When it was Mann’s turn to speak, Mann could not even stand. He was seen blowing flying kisses to the people before collapsing on the dais. He managed to get up somehow and, after blowing some more flying kisses, he started speaking.
In April 2022, The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) alleged that the Punjab chief minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Singh Mann had entered Takht Damdama Sahib in a drunk state on the occasion of Baisakhi, which was celebrated across the country on April 14. The organization has demanded an apology from the Punjab Chief Minister for the same. The SGPC is in charge of the management of Sikh shrines in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh.
In a statement issued in Amritsar, SGPC senior vice president Raghujit Singh Virk stated that the chief minister visited a highly revered spiritual site of the Sikh community while under the influence of alcohol and “violated the Sikh rehat maryada (code of conduct).”
Though AAP has refuted the claims that Mann was deplaned in Germany as he was allegedly drunk, the reputation he carries from the past raised red flags in the minds of many. Maybe, someday, CM Mann would like to sing the famous song starring late Dilip Kumar “muje duniyaa waalon, sharaabee naa samajho… main peetaa nahin hoon, pilaai gayi hai.”
In a shocking incident, a Pakistani passenger onboard a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Peshawar to Dubai created a ruckus inside the plane and tried to break the plane’s window, a video of which has gone viral on the internet.
According to the reports, the man started throwing tantrums as soon as the flight boarded and asked the cabin crew to get him off the aircraft. He then started stripping, punching, and kicking the seats and also kicked a window pane while the aircraft was mid-air, causing panic among the passengers and flight crew alike.
In the video shared above, one of the cabin crew members tries to calm the man down. However, the man loses his cool, jumps over the seats and kicks the adjoining window pane.
In another video of the incident, the passenger removed his belongings, lied down on the aisle blocking the passage and started giving Azaan (Islamic call to public prayer) inside the plane.
#Video A passenger created extreme trouble on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Peshawar-Dubai PK-283 flight as he suddenly started punching seats and kicking the aircraft’s window. pic.twitter.com/bUZ0ZTVNxw
The video of the man’s erratic behaviour, seemingly shot by one of the co-passengers, had instantly gone viral after it was shared on social media.
According to a report published in Dawn, with much effort, the crew restrained the passenger and tied his hands and feet as per aviation procedures.
Upon arrival in Dubai, the cabin crew took the passenger through security and informed the PIA management about the incident. The PIA immediately sent a two-member team from Islamabad to bring him back to Pakistan. Later the local authorities informed the PIA management who immediately sent a two-member team from Islamabad to bring the passenger back.
On Monday (September 19), ‘journalist’ Kallol Bhattacherjee courted controversy after he tried to downplay the vicious attack by Islamists on the Indian Hindu diaspora in Leicester as a fight between Gujaratis.
He made the contentious remarks while reacting to the condemnation of the attack by the Indian High Commissioner in London. Kallol Bhattacharjee attempted to strip the victims of their Indian identity and project the attack as an ethnic clash.
“Reports suggest that the fight is between two groups of Indians. Hindu and Muslim Gujaratis are fighting each other. So, it may not be entirely correct to say that Indians were attacked.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Kallol Bhattacharjee
In a subsequent tweet, the ‘journalist’ resorted to bothsidesism and falsely claimed that Hindus and Muslims took turns attacking each other. He also pinned the blame on ‘loud celebrations’ in the aftermath of the India Vs Pakistan Asia Cup match for the month-long violence against the Hindu community.
“Leicester is famous for being a Gujarati area. Tension has been high since India-Pakistan Asia Cup match. Hindus and Muslims have taken turns in attacking each other since trouble began over loud celebration after the match,” he had tweeted.
This is however not the first time that a prominent ‘journalist’ went on an anti-Gujarati tirade in the aftermath of the violence against Hindus in Leicester. On Sunday (September 18), ex-Ahmedabad Mirror Editor Deepal Trivedi insinuated that Gujaratis from India were responsible for the violence in Leicester.
Trivedi, a Congress side-kick, claimed that Leicester is dominated by Gujaratis and such behaviour is expected of them.
Screengrab of the tweet by Deepal Trivedi
Horror at Leicester: Targeted attacks on Hindus and Misinformation campaigns
Leicester City in England’s East Midlands region has witnessed a sharp increase in targeted attacks against the Hindu community. The orgy of violence by Islamists began soon after India clinched victory against Pakistan in the group stage match of the Asia Cup on August 28.
According to a Hindu organisation (@INSIGHTUK2), a casual banter between Indian fans and Pakistani supporters turned serious when the latter snatched and disrespected the Indian tricolour. Soon after, the police took cognisance of the matter but added to the raging misinformation by Islamists that religious slurs were hurled in Hindi.
India and Pakistan again met at the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup. After Pakistan succeeded in settling scores on the field, its supporters attacked a Hindu home celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi.
The accused men also received overwhelming support from their co-religionists on social media. Homes, cars, and properties belonging to the Hindu community, which were easily identifiable with sacred symbols, were damaged. In order to control the situation, Chief Superintendent Adam Slonecki granted dispersal and stop search powers to the police.
Recently, a Hindu temple came under attack by Islamists in Leicester. In a viral video, one extremist was seen uprooting a saffron flag affixed to the temple structure. On September 16, the police informed that a total of 27 people were arrested in connection with the violence.
Meanwhile, the Islamists resorted to making outlandish claims to deviate public discourse from the targeted attacks on Hindus. While speaking to Opindia, research scholar Sarah L Gates said, “This was a planned clean out aka religious cleansing. They want to purge Hindus.”
Hindus in Leicester are now at the mercy of the police for their safety. With motivated news publications and Islamist groups portraying them as the perpetrators, they are left to fend for themselves.
